What to ask about retirement planning when you don’t know what to ask about retirement planning…

By Cindy Bowden

Most people don’t ask enough questions about their retirement planning because either they don’t know what to ask, or they know what to ask but they are afraid of the answers. If you’re in one of these two camps, don’t worry. I’m here to help, and I can promise you that when it comes to asking the right questions, no matter how long you’ve been putting it off, today is the best day to start. (Yes, I really mean that!)

Here are seven questions you might be thinking of asking…

1. How long should I be paying for disability or critical illness insurance? This is a great question to ask at any age, but especially as you get close to 60 or 65.

2. How do I make the transition to fixed income? I can show you several strategies that blend investment and insurance in ways that have worked for my other clients.

3. Can I afford to retire? Ah yes, this is the big, million-dollar question! You may have more money than you think… I can show you a few new strategies for turning assets into income.

4. How can I help my kids get ‘off the payroll’? This is a biggie! I can tell you about strategies that have worked for other clients.

5. If I keep working part-time or as a consultant, will my Old Age Security be clawed back? This is a good question to ask at the same time that we talk about the kind of lifestyle you want!

6. Should I trigger my pension sooner or later? This is another question that relates to lifestyle and financial planning.

7. How do I minimize tax on my estate and maximize the amount of money I leave behind? Yes, please ask me this question, because I’m sure the last thing you want to do is leave a tax debt to your kids…

The answers to all these questions, (and more), depend, of course, on your situation and what you really want to do with the rest of your life. But as you can see, many of the questions I suggest you start with pertain to planning, investments and insurance. My professional designations qualify me to give you holistic advice. It’s a unique perspective that neither traditional investment advisors nor insurance brokers have – but I do.

So when you are thinking about the right questions to ask about retirement planning, maybe the best one to start with is, ‘Cindy, what’s your number?’